Public
FTAA.soc/thm/inf/23
November 4, 2003

The State of Georgia (USA) has been a proactive participant in the global economy and an advocate for international trade liberalization for well over a quarter of a century. NAFTA has yielded significant economic gains for Georgia and we anticipate FTAA will produce even better results.

In the early 1970's then Governor Jimmy Carter led his first trade mission to Brazil, followed by others to countries in Central and South America, with the objective of promoting export and investment opportunities for Georgia companies. He also established Georgia's first overseas offices in Brussels and Tokyo, primarily to attract companies in Europe and Japan to invest in Georgia. From those early forays into the international arena, Georgia has attracted over 1,600 international companies to locate in the state employing thousands of Georgians. During this same period, Georgia has seen its exports rise steadily.

In 2002, the state's merchandise exports approached $15.0 billion, an increase of 100% during the prior decade, also supporting thousands of export-related jobs throughout the state. Appropriately, more than 45% of these exports go to markets in the Americas - we do much of our business with partners in our neighborhood. While state level figures for services exports are not available, the presence of a number of global companies in the services industry headquartered in Georgia place the state in an important position as a services exporter, contributing to a similarly large number of additional jobs from the international involvement of these services firms. These same companies are in many cases importers of services (call centers, software development and localization, and other IT services), contributing to a balanced position in international trade in services for the state.

The leading services firms in Georgia actively involved internationally and in the Americas are: BellSouth International in the telecommunications sector; Delta Air Lines and United Parcel Service in the transportation category; Equifax, ING and TSYS in the financial services field; CNN, CNN International and CNN en Español (plus other news and entertainment units of Turner Broadcasting System), LAPTV and Crawford & Company in the broadcast services field; CheckFree, EzGov, ISS and others in the software and information technology sector; InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, AFC Enterprises and many other hospitality and food service franchisers; and a large number of professional services firms involved in architectural, engineering and other design services, international consultancy, legal and financial advisory services.

These companies are joined by other major international enterprises also with global headquarters in Georgia such as The Coca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, Georgia Pacific, Scientific Atlanta and GE Power Systems. These Georgia-based firms and others that contribute to Atlanta's ranking as No. 3 in the US with the most headquarters of Fortune 500 companies, are major investors in many of the nations of the Americas as well as important participants in services trade. Their investment contributes to new and enhanced infrastructure development, creation of new jobs, transfer of technology, know-how and employee skills-training, and the creation of enterprises and citizens capable of competing successfully in the countries of the Hemisphere and in the global economy.

Atlanta and Georgia also have a long history of collaboration between the business community and Civil Society, led by the CEO's and senior executives of many well-known international corporations based in our state. These companies and many others that call Georgia home are not only committed to their core businesses and to creating value for their shareholders, but also to supporting the communities where they do business. One small example of their commitment to community is illustrated by their personal involvement in the annual United Way fund drives and their service on many boards of non-profit corporations at home and abroad.

They are also involved and committed to supporting leading non-profit institutions and NGOs based in Atlanta such as CARE, the American Cancer Society, Friends of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the Southern Center for International Studies, the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech, the Dean Rusk Center for International, Comparative and Graduate Legal Studies at the University of Georgia and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University.

At The Carter Center, former President Carter's personal commitment to the betterment of Civil Society is exemplified by many of the programs of the Center, particularly those focused on the Americas, a legacy that stems back to the days of his presidency. He fought for human rights in the U.S. and abroad and for transparency, fairness and honesty in commercial transactions between U.S. businesses and foreign governments, in particular those in the Americas.

The Carter Center, through the collaboration and support of the Council of Freely Elected former Heads of State and Heads of Government, has also promoted democracy building and has monitored the fair and democratic outcome of many elections in the countries of the hemisphere.

Atlanta is recognized as the cradle of civil rights for the work of Martin Luther King and the non­violent social movement that led to the peaceful abolishment of segregation and social integration in our city and state of the United States. The enlightened leadership of the business community in the 1960's quietly but forcefully supported desegregation and as a result Atlanta and Georgia did not experience the civil strife that plagued other cities and states in the United States at that time. Additionally, the shared economic activity and prosperity we enjoyed during that period led to the coining of the description of Atlanta as the city "too busy to hate."

The political, civic and business leadership of Atlanta and Georgia are committed to fostering a better future for our citizens and the citizens of our hemisphere. Our support of the FTAA reflects that same strong tradition of working together to improve the economic and social well being of our neighborhood - the communities of the Americas.

Carlos Martel, Deputy Commissioner
Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism
285 Peachtree Center Avenue, Suite 1100
Atlanta, Georgia, 30303 USA
cmartel@georgia.org / Tel. 404-656-2680